Curry Indian Chicken

I'll bet what motivated the British to colonize so much of the world is that they were just looking for a decent meal. ~Martha Harrison

(Sorry it has been so long since I posted last. I started working nights and have not been able to cook as much as I would like!)

Missoula is a great town. I love living here. By Montana standards, Missoula is quite diverse; though, unfortunately, the food scene does not trend toward diversity. The choices are pretty slim: American, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, and some other Asian style restaurants dot the valley, but we are severely lacking in one type of food. I love the bold, strong flavors of Indian food. Scents fill the nose creating an expectation of grandeur upon the first bite; the curry and onion, garlic and paprika dance on my tongue. So, with the lack of a place to go out and eat Indian food I decided to start making my own. I probably should go and get a book and follow the recipes, but it was more fun to invent something of my own. This is how my standard Indian Chicken recipe came into being. It is a simple dish that uses ingredients most people already have in their kitchen.

Curry Indian Chicken

6 Chicken breast tenderloins

4 cloves of garlic , chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

½ Jar of red pasta sauce (I used garlic and onion style)

Curry Powder

Hungarian Paprika

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

A dash of Crushed Red Pepper

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a deep frying pan and add garlic. Sauté the garlic for about a minute to flavor the oil. Add the onion and stir.

While the onion is softening, season one side of the chicken with curry, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper. Once the onions are fairly transparent, add the chicken, seasoned side down, to the frying pan. Season the other side of the chicken.

Allow to cook on each side for about five minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. It is important at this point to leave the chicken alone. Don’t move it around in the pan or stir it around. just let it cook for about five minutes, flip it and let it cook again.

Once the chicken is no longer pink, remove it from the pan (trying to leave as much of the onion/garlic mix in the pan as possible), cover, and set aside.

Pour pasta sauce into the pan and stir to bring up all that chicken-y goodness from the bottom of the pan. Add about a teaspoon of curry powder and a dash of crushed red pepper to the sauce and stir to incorporate.

Return chicken to the pan and stir to coat. Allow to cook for at least 5 more minutes.

Serve over seasoned rice. More often than not, I serve this with carrots cooked in butter and a dash of garlic powder.

Feel Better Potato Soup

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”
Laurie Colwin

If Snoopy were writing this blog, it would start with "It was a cold and rainy night..." As it turns out, I am writing this blog after a weekend of feeling as if the Red Barron was flying loops in my stomach and attacking my digestive tract. It really has been chilly and stormy here in Missoula. The temperatures have been hovering between 40 and 60 degrees and it feels like fall. When I wasn't feeling well, my fiance, Brad, brought me some canned potato soup and some saltines. The thought was wonderful, but the canned soup left a lot to be desired. So, when he left for the baseball game to sell 50/50 tickets to benefit his work at a local home for adults with developmental disabilities, I decided to make some real soup.

Soup is one of those things that can do wonders when you are not feeling up to par. The soup I made is a hearty soup that makes you feel full and comforted on a yucky day.

Feel Better Potato Soup
1/3 pound bacon
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large onion
2 cups water
1 cup milk
2 chicken boullion cubes (I use the Lower Sodium kind)
pepper, garlic salt, paprika, and garlic powder (to your taste)
shredded cheese (for garnish)
6 medium carrots (peeled and sliced in big chunks)
10 medium russet potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
1 can kernel corn (drained)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


Cook the bacon until the fat is just rendered and add garlic.



Add the onions and let it cook together for a while. I cleaned the kitchen while stirring the pot occationally. Then I added the carrotts.






Place the potatoes on top of this mixture and season. Potatoes need a lot of salt, so I put some garlic salt in there too. Just be careful! too much salt can ruin the whole pot and remember it already has bacon in it and soon we will be adding bouillon!
















Allow this mixture to cook together for about 10 minutes, stirring occationally. Add the can of corn and the parmesan cheese to the mix.






Add water and milk and stir. Bring liquid to a rolling boil and add your bullion cubes.




Cover, turn down the heat, and allow to boil, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are knife tender. Mush some of the potatoes against the side of the pan and stir before serving.




Top it all off with a little bit of shredded cheese and enjoy the warm soupy goodness!